Invasion of America

Chapter 106 Shelter
Clutching his flashlight, Diaz walked along the dimly lit underground passage, his footsteps echoing dully on the concrete floor.

The air was filled with a dry, musty smell, mixed with the smell of metallic rust and the scent of insulating rubber.

Exposed pipes and dangling cables are occasionally visible overhead, stretching into the darkness like thick blood vessels. The ventilation ducts emit a low hum, like the breathing of an underground behemoth.

This is one of the most inconspicuous branches of the labyrinthine underground works of Capitol Hill.

Safety officers conduct routine monthly inspections of the site to prevent accidents such as aging cables, loose connections, or troublesome short circuits caused by rodents, ensuring the reliable operation of the entire underground facility.

At the end of the passage, in front of the fire door, there was an abandoned handcart parked out of the way.

Diaz lifted the crumpled tarpaulin on the cart, as if he had discovered a 'treasure' left behind by a scavenger.

The leftover cream bread smelled like it was high in sugar and calories. The three unfinished bottles of electrolyte water, upon closer inspection, turned out to be homemade salt water.

There were also scattered multivitamin tablets, daily medications for treating headaches and fevers, and bandages for bandaging wounds—standard survival supplies.

Besides food and drink, there were also lighting fixtures, a field knife with a compass, and a modified car radio hidden at the bottom. The Yagi antenna was made from a soda can, simple yet practical.

"That kid's really well-prepared," Diaz scoffed.

The side pockets of the cart even contain a simple water purifier and a compressed sleeping bag, allowing users to survive in the wild for extended periods and maintain morale and stamina.

"But he easily abandoned these things here. What does that mean? It means he found a better hiding place."

Diaz pushed open the normally closed fire door, behind which was a noisy temporary underground hospital.

He stood before the hospital bed, surveying the dying patient and the busy medical staff, and suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

Compared to other shelters suffering from the pandemic, the atmosphere inside this hospital was far too cheerful.
-
Several Homeland Security agents, their faces grim, surrounded Nurse Shani, urgently inquiring about the whereabouts of the suspect, 'Victor'.

Faced with the agents' relentless questioning, Shani was uncooperative, instead displaying unusual anger and resistance. Her body language was overly aggressive, clearly indicating she was deliberately concealing something.

Diaz frowned, walked up to Shani, and broke the silence with a cold tone: "Madam, I am quite certain that an extremely dangerous terrorist was present in this underground hospital."

We must apprehend him as soon as possible, and that requires your full cooperation. His sharp gaze was fixed on Shani's face, catching any subtle change in her expression.

“Normally, you should listen to our statement first, then think about it, and finally deny it. But you are completely uncooperative and go straight to the ‘denial’ stage.”

Are you trying to protect a federal criminal?

Diaz's voice suddenly rose, carrying a strong and imposing tone, as he demanded, "This is an 'emergency situation,' and some procedures have been simplified."

The coalition government has authorized the Department of Homeland Security to take any necessary actions to safeguard national security.

Listen, ma'am, I don't want to arrest you, but it depends on your attitude. Now, tell me your answer.

Faced with Diaz's forceful questioning, Shani's face stiffened unnaturally, her expression revealing a hint of panic and fear.

Diaz knew his psychological tactics were working, and he figured a few more words of appeasement would surely yield results.

Just when the atmosphere was at its most tense, a thunderous roar rang out from behind Shani, making the surrounding air seem to tremble.

The burly head nurse, Williams, had woken up at some point. Her eyes were wide with anger, and she had somehow grabbed a greasy mop and charged at him like a lioness.

"You bastards!" The head nurse's gruff voice was filled with anger and threat. "Who gave you outsiders permission to run wild on my turf?!"

She brandished the mop in her hand, the cloth strips of the mop head unfurling in a spiral, pointing directly at Diaz, her eyes sweeping contemptuously over the pistol at his waist:

"With that little thing in your crotch? I bet before those two stinky bullets even go off, my mop will be slapping you in the face first!"

The mop looked filthy, with dark stains clinging to its head and emitting a nauseating odor.

The mop cloth still bore traces of the patient's blood, feces, and even vomit, making it an eyesore. It had clearly been taken from a caregiver and hadn't had time to be cleaned.

Upon seeing this, Diaz's pupils contracted sharply, his expression changed drastically, and he instinctively reached for the pistol at his waist.

At the same time, a large number of people gathered around the hospital bed.

Several underground hospital guards in rumpled uniforms and some nurses in white coats also pulled out their weapons.

The dark muzzle of the gun was pointed menacingly at Diaz and his few seemingly outnumbered Homeland Security agents.

At this moment, everyone's nerves were taut, like a fully drawn bowstring, and any spark could ignite a conflict.

For these hospital staff who live underground and constantly face death, the psychological pressure has long since reached a breaking point.

After several days of busy and arduous work, the hospital staff knew very well who their most reliable partners were. They chose to unite and stand with Head Nurse Williams.

If provoked, caregivers and guards will not hesitate to pull the trigger.

At worst, we can just stuff these agents into body bags—there are too many deaths these days; those who die in the morning can be cremated in the afternoon.

Especially in places like hospitals, unidentified corpses are not uncommon.

Once gunfire erupts, the filthy mop can easily wipe away the bloodstains on the ground, covering everything up.

No one can trace it.

Diaz looked at the hostile gazes and the dark muzzles of guns around him, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He knew that his usual domineering attitude had provoked the wrath of the crowd.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger and fear, and slowly raised his hands, forcing a stiff smile onto his face:

"Calm down, calm down, don't be nervous. We're just asking routine questions. If you don't know the answer, that's fine, we'll leave now."

Professor Hart, who was in charge of the hospital, watched the situation with indifference, but he knew that if he didn't want things to escalate, he had to find another place for 'Victor' who had caused the incident.

Where should we take him?
It doesn't seem right to just fire him; we should leverage his strengths and give him a better platform—a promotion!
A day earlier, Hammer replaced the pilot who had died unexpectedly, and successfully escaped Washington, D.C. in his DC-3.

The old plane carried a dozen or so women and children for fifty kilometers before landing on Interstate 95 in Virginia.

Upon landing, a tire burst, causing the aircraft to skid sideways and nearly crash into the roadside median. Fortunately, the DC-3 was lightly loaded and had very little fuel left, allowing it to come to a smooth stop after taxiing for several hundred meters.

Inside the cabin, a dozen or so women and children, still shaken, huddled together. Most of their husbands and fathers were gone forever, forever buried in the blood-soaked museum in Washington.

Zhou Qingfeng, the only survivor, did not board the plane.

At this moment, the survivors helped each other down the gangway and slumped into a circle by the highway, their suppressed sobs drifting through the morning mist.

Only old man Hammer remained optimistic. After completing the driving, he proudly exclaimed, "Lucy, Grandpa was pretty amazing, wasn't he!"
"I haven't flown a plane in over ten years, but I haven't forgotten the skill. Back in the day, I flew through the jungles of South America; it was so exciting!" It was indeed exciting; during the landing, Lucy, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned pale. She only breathed a sigh of relief after the plane came to a complete stop.

"Grandpa, we need to leave immediately after we get off the plane."

Catching her breath, Lucy unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the cabin door. She took out her phone to check the signal and called Chen Rui to report the situation.

Half an hour later, Chen Rui arrived in a small Cessna plane and picked up the grandfather and grandson.

As for the other fleeing women and children, they could only be given some food and water and sent to nearby towns for help.

With access to tens of thousands of small airports across the United States, the Cessna is more effective than the Warthog in the American countryside.

"Where are we going now?" Old Hammer asked, looking puzzled.

"Let's go to the shelter Victor prepared," Lucy remarked with a sigh. The numerous shelters Zhou Qingfeng had set up were now proving invaluable.

The Cessna flew over 300 kilometers and landed on a dirt runway. Next to the runway was a poorly managed and closed forest amusement park with the theme of "The Wizard of Oz".

During the economic boom, this amusement park must have welcomed tens of thousands of visitors. But as the US population aged, it was abandoned in the wilderness.

The once bustling amusement park is now just a faded cartoon sign swaying in the wind, and the carousel's roof has a large hole, revealing the rusted steel frame inside.

Zhou Qingfeng used this place as a refuge. He didn't enjoy it himself, but it wasn't a waste.

Around the time Chen Rui landed, several small planes landed, and some outside vehicles drove into the area.

Chen Rui didn't get off the plane himself. He only contacted the temporary control tower and waited for the ground crew to come and refuel him before taking off again, not knowing where he was going.
-
Just as old man Hammer and his granddaughter Lucy stood anxiously beside the desolate track, an old electric sightseeing vehicle slowly drove out of the amusement park, creaking and groaning as it rolled over the gravel road.

Xiao Jinlang sat in the driver's seat, a gentle smile on his slightly tired face, and waved to them.

"Please come up, both of you. You are safe now, but for everyone's safety, please cooperate with the necessary isolation and disinfection procedures to ensure that the virus is not brought into the amusement park."

This was the first time the grandfather and grandson had met Xiao Jinlang.

Lucy, without even taking in her surroundings, hurriedly explained to him that Zhou Qingfeng had not come along, expressing her great worry and concern.

“I know.” Xiao Jinlang nodded calmly. “Victor’s radio station has been maintaining intermittent contact with us, and he has explained the situation over there.”

The electric sightseeing vehicle slowly drove into the dilapidated amusement park, passed through a path covered with withered yellow leaves, and went past a fountain that had long since dried up.

In the center of the fountain, the once brightly colored fairytale character statues are now covered with the marks of time, with withered vines like the white hair of an old man, helplessly entwining them, making them look particularly desolate.

This abandoned amusement park covers an area of ​​over a hundred acres. In addition to the rusty, out-of-operation amusement facilities, there are also several dilapidated hotels and abandoned supporting buildings.

Fortunately, the amusement park has its own water and electricity supply system. Although it has been abandoned for many years, it should be able to be put back into use after a little maintenance.

Many people are installing solar panels on site, striving to build a self-sufficient power supply system for this temporary shelter before fossil fuels are completely exhausted.

There were even a few agricultural machines clearing the wasteland, seemingly preparing to sow something.

"Are you planning to get into farming?" Lucy asked in surprise.

Xiao Jinlang said with a wry smile, "In the past few days, there has been a risk of logistics disruptions, so we have to make some preparations."

For example, planting lettuce, spinach, or radishes can yield a harvest in as little as two weeks. Even the slower ones only take two or three months.

"How many people are here right now? Are you planning to stay here for a long time?" Lucy asked, looking at the bustling scene before her.

Xiao Jinlang understood the reason for Lucy's surprise, and a bitter smile appeared on his face: "There are only a little over a hundred people at the moment, but I estimate that in a few days, the number will probably increase to five or six hundred."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “We have been trying our best to stay in touch with Chinese people, international students, business people, and tourists in Virginia and beyond.”

If they need shelter, they can find one of our pre-established shelters nearby.

Furthermore, we are also open to individuals from other ethnic groups with medical expertise. Several doctors and nurses from nearby towns have already arrived with medicines and medical equipment to check in.

Xiao Jinlang recalled the first time he met Zhou Qingfeng at the test farm of 'electric flight'. There, various "preparations for war and famine" were being carried out, as if they were preparing to deal with some natural disaster.

Now, all of Electric Flight's employees in the United States have an epiphany, understanding why their young CEO places such importance on training in firearms handling and post-apocalyptic survival skills.

In Lao Xiao's view at this moment, all of Zhou Qingfeng's seemingly absurd behavior concealed a clear and shocking purpose.

That kid had foreseen the outbreak of the virus and knew perfectly well how devastating its harm would be.

Although the network in Washington, D.C. remains paralyzed, the flow of information in other parts of the United States has not been completely interrupted.

In just a few days, the public opinion field across the United States and even the world was in turmoil, with various viewpoints and information clashing with each other like a surging tide.

The University of Tokyo reacted swiftly, taking strict lockdown measures the moment it realized the situation was dire, determined to either close its doors and develop on its own.

Anyway, the country is vast and rich in resources, with a complete range of industries, so self-sufficiency is entirely possible—no matter how powerful the virus is, as long as it can't spread, it will eventually stop.

However, the reactions from different countries around the world are not the same.

Countries whose economies rely heavily on tourism are reluctant to implement lockdowns, fearing severe economic damage.
Countries with insufficient domestic productivity and heavy reliance on finance and consumption dare not impose blockades, fearing they will trigger systemic risks.
Many other countries wanted to impose lockdowns but were unable to do so, and ultimately had no choice but to "lie down and give up."

Furthermore, many bureaucratic systems, for their own benefit, stubbornly claim that the virus is just a minor cold that can be resolved by taking some fever reducers.

However, as the number of infections increases dramatically, more and more people are becoming aware of the severity of the crisis, and calls for strong lockdown measures are growing louder.

It is foreseeable that once a certain tipping point is reached, the direction of public opinion will inevitably undergo an overwhelming reversal.

However, while reversing public opinion may be relatively easy, controlling the epidemic is by no means easy.

The tour bus slowly drove through the dilapidated amusement park. The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the abandoned facilities, casting long shadows and adding to the desolate atmosphere of the apocalypse in this temporary refuge.

Xiao Jinlang was really worried. The last global pandemic lasted for three years. He wondered how long this one would last.

Back in China, the lockdown already made life incredibly inconvenient. Now that I'm in the US, if the virus really does break out on a large scale, it will be absolutely unstoppable.

Spring, summer, and autumn were fine, but once winter came, the Native Americans struggled to develop on this land for thousands of years, and there was a reason for that.

"I wonder if Zhou Qingfeng has any deeper foresight, what should we do if the global apocalypse breaks out?"

(End of this chapter)